FWIW, I get the hate toward Miami. I really didn't like the YS experience on Sunday. But I also spent several years rooting for Barcelona because of how much I liked Messi and rooting against Real Madrid because of how much I disliked Ronaldo. Now, years later, I still root for Barcelona and against RM. No good reason for it. I just do.
I think Miami is going to have a ton of fans around the country for a long time to come, well beyond Messi. Lots and lots of people with Miami jerseys. Those Messi souvenirs turn into psychological anchors holding them to the team. A lot of those people will once again ignore MLS completely once Messi goes. But a lot of those people will stay, especially since he will have an ownership stake afterwards. Even without him on the field, rooting for Miami will be a form of rooting for him.
I've never fully understood the term "plastic" in this context. What makes fandom artificial vs real? One thing is for sure, the volume of the "Messi, Messi" chants on Sunday felt reverberatingly real.
Plastic is the wrong word for it. it's not fake, and the word is another dumb English soccer lingo import. It doesn't even make sense in England because the fandom is real. The emotions and passion are real. They just have the wrong origin. The proper word is not plastic but frontrunner. It's not as catchy but it makes sense.
Though such fandom is real, it deserves scorn. There are several good reasons to become a fan of a team or player: geography (at any time in your life), family history, personal connection, a few others. But becoming a fan of a team to which you have no connection because it wins or has a superstar player? Pfft. I don't respect.
80+% of US soccer fans are fans of the same 8-10 teams in Europe and magically - they all play regularly in Champions League! Pathetic.
Yes, I'm judging almost every soccer fan I know. Sorry not sorry. I even know that until 10-15 years ago those were the only teams you could reliably watch or even get good info regarding. I don't care.
It's OK to respect and admire world class players on other teams. But rooting for them? No. Bird, Jordan, LeBron, Brady, Moss, Mahomes, Gretzky, Crosby, Maddux, Griffey, Oh, Messi, Ronaldo. No, you cannot root for them especially not ever against your own local team. "I just admire excellence." So do I, but I don't sell my allegiance for an endorphin hit. I guess rooting tor Barca over Madrid or vice versa is harmless. But Miami over New York? Unless you're a very rare Miami to NY transplant who grew up rooting for . . . No, that doesn't even work. The team was created 6 years ago. There aren't even dozens of such people.
And the kids. I guess you can't blame the kids but you can blame the parents who indulge it.
PS: NFL fandom in the US is a weird special case. I have a theory which I've never seen anyone else state. But then I've never seen any theories to explain why NFL fandom shades much more national than local compared to other US sports. But it clearly is. Pittsburgh, Dallas, the Raiders all have massive fanbases dispersed all over the country. I'm confident that most other NFL teams have larger non-local fanbases than average teams in other US sports. In short, it's TV. Not just that every game ever has always been produced and shown by a national network, but way back to when I was a kid there was a very stringent local blackout rule that prevented at least half and often more games from being shown locally. I believe that's why the biggest national NFL teams date to the 1970s. The Raiders haven't been good ever since that decade. The Steelers are usually good but have only flashed excellence briefly in the last 50 years. Dallas did blossom again in the 90s but they're in their third decade of disappointment now. Yet they all have huge fandoms all over the country. Packers too. Massive in the 1960 to early 70s, then terrible until Favre showed up. They've been good since then, but their national roots date to the 60s-70s. The local blackout rules went away a half-century ago but it seems that part of NFL culture never went away.
My non-local no-connection fandom shame is the Minnesota Vikings, because when I was a kid they were on TV probably more than either local NY team. The first NFL game I remember watching was them losing Super Bowl 4, and they've never won before or since so the joke is on me I guess.
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